1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connector in which terminals are received and retained in a housing, and more particularly, to an electrical connector having a rear holder.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A conventional connector, having a rear holder, is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-124623 filed by the Applicant of the present application. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the conventional connector disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-124623, FIG. 6 is an exploded, perspective view of the connector of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 5.
The connector 100 is used to interconnect circuits provided inside and outside a transmission casing of an automatic transmission, and the connector is mounted on a side wall of the transmission casing. As shown in FIG. 5, the connector 100 comprises a housing 102 made of a resin, a plurality of terminal-connected wires 104, a rear holder 106 retaining terminals 105 received in the housing 102, and a sealing resin material 107 sealing the interior of the housing 102 to prevent leakage of oil and the like.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, one end portion of the housing 102 forms a receiving portion 108 for receiving a mating connector (not shown), and electrical contact portions of the received terminals 105 project into this receiving portion 108. The other end portion of the housing 102 forms a terminal receiving portion 109 in which the terminal-connected wires 104 are inserted. A plurality of cavities 111 are formed in a partition wall 110 within the terminal receiving portion 109, and are arranged in two rows, i.e., upper and lower rows. The terminals 105 are received in the cavities 111, respectively. A filling chamber 112, communicating with the cavities 111, is provided in the terminal receiving chamber 109.
As shown in FIG. 6, the rear holder 106 includes retaining projections 113 and a positioning plate 114, and the retaining projections 113 are retainingly engaged respectively in retaining holes 115 formed through a peripheral wall of the terminal receiving portion 109, and the positioning plate 114 is retainingly engaged in a positioning groove 116 formed in the peripheral wall of the terminal receiving portion 109. The rear holder 106 has an insertion notch 117, extending from the upper row of cavities 111, through which the wires 104 pass.
In the connector 100, one end of each of the terminal-connected wires 104 is inserted into the housing 102 while the other end is inserted into another housing (not shown). Thereafter, the terminal-connected wires 104 can be passed through the insertion notch 117, and then the rear holder 106 can be attached to the housing 102. Specifically, the wires 104, extending outwardly from the housing 102, are passed through the insertion notch 117. The rear holder 106 is moved toward the housing 102 along the wires 104 to engage with the peripheral wall of the terminal receiving portion 109. Then, the rear holder may be attached to the housing 102.
However, in the conventional connector 100, the insertion notch 117 is formed in the rear holder 106. Therefore, side wall portions of the rear holder 106, forming the insertion notch 117, have reduced strength. Thus, the rear holder 106 is liable to deformation. As a result, when engaging the rear holder 106 with the housing 102, the retaining projections 113 on the rear holder 106 can not be brought into registry with the retaining holes 115, respectively, and the rear holder 106 can not be properly engaged with the housing 102, and in some cases it has been difficult to attach the rear holder 106 to the housing 102.